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Payments BB Release notes - March 2025

Payments BB Release notes - March 2025

Oscar Correia (Maarifa Education)Vijay Mauree (ITU), Arnold Kibuuka (ITU), , Dr. P. S. Ramkumar (ITU), Elie Sawaya (GIZ), David Higgins (Mifos)

@Oscar Correia @Mauree, Venkatesen @PSRAMKUMAR @David Higgins

  1. Release Overview:
    This update primarily introduces enhancements for the multicurrency use case within the payments BB specification (for detailed context on the payments BB refer to: Payments BB: Multicurrency - GovStack - GovStack Wiki).


    Multicurrency is important because it enables seamless transactions across different currencies, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and access to financial services in diverse economic environments. Additionally, some countries have multiple currencies due to reasons such as economic instability, historical factors, or the presence of a significant informal economy. This multiplicity can facilitate trade and investment but may also complicate financial management and regulatory oversight.

  2. Detailed Updates:

  • Description: The description was updated to include the multicurrency use cases

  • Terminology: New terms have been added to better define multicurrency operations.

  • Key Digital Functionalities: We have implemented support for multiple currencies.

  • Crosscutting Requirements: We've incorporated additional requirements for the calculation of multicurrency payments, ensuring independent calculations and settlements in the same currency as the transaction. This update also includes the handling of multicurrency accounts for both payers and payees.

  • Standards: Standards for currency and payment status codes have been integrated into the specification.

  • Data Structures: Updates to the data structures, now include currency indication as a mandatory field for multicurrency transactions.

  • Service APIs: The P2G APIs have been enhanced to include the currency functionality for multicurrency use cases. Additionally, updates have been made to the G2P bulk disbursement payment APIs and P2G responses to correct display errors.

  • Internal Workflows: Adjustments have been made to display workflows that accommodate multicurrency transactions.

  1. Other non multicurrency related changes in this release.

  • Scheduling: The scheduling feature within the payments module has been refined to clearly define internal payments BB scheduling processes.

  • Service APIs: The issue with Section 8 not loading due to excessive swagger blocks has been identified and resolved, mirroring a similar fix implemented in the bb-emarketplace.

  1. Documentation
    For more information regarding these updates, users are encouraged to consult the revised sections within the specification. Additionally, for details on multicurrency, please refer to the multicurrency use case document available here: Specification for In-Country Multicurrency Payment Systems for governments, persons and businesses